Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Yankees' postseason dreams were decisively squashed by the Texas Rangers. Well, the series went six games, so I guess it wasn't exactly a blowout. Still...it seemed more one-sided than that number suggests.

I shouldn't be greedy. Last year was everything a Yankee fan could dream of. The new stadium broken in in the best way possible. One last win for the Boss. A last hurrah for the aging core of the dynasty team, and finally a ring for A-Rod. I couldn't ask for more, really.

This year's team didn't seem very good. They couldn't even win their division, despite having a huge lead earlier in the season. They just didn't seem to be peaking at the right time.

But after they made such short work of the Twins, I really started to think they could do it again. They couldn't. Girardi made some highly questionable moves, there were defensive blunders, and young Phil Hughes looked like a deer in the headlights pitching against the Rangers, but in the end, it came down to offense. The Bronx Bombers didn't hit.

The Yankees were looking awfully old and tired during that last series. Derek Jeter had a bad year with both stick and glove. He's playing shortstop at an age when most shortstops have moved to easier positions, become part-time players, or retired. At the plate, his OPS this season was the worst since his cup of coffee as a 21-year-old rookie.

Just a bad year? Maybe, but he'll be 37 next year - an age where bad years often turn out to be terminal decline.

Jorge Posada's stick is still pretty good, but he obviously can't play every day any more. And even if he somehow manages to stay healthy...he's never been a great defensive catcher, and now he's terrible.

And A-Rod...he looked so stiff and awkward during the post-season. I would guess he was injured - probably his hip again. I think the Yanks are going to regret signing him until he's in his 40s. No doubt they have insurance that will cover the contract if he can't play. But it probably doesn't cover him if he can play, but badly.

Despite their efforts to get younger, the Yanks have at least three players who should probably be DHing next year.

Jeter is probably the most problematic. I'm pretty confident that the Yanks will re-sign him. He's made it clear that he doesn't want to move from the SS position, and there's nowhere for him to move to, really. I'm not looking forward to seeing Jeter turn into Bernie Williams.